City News

During City Council's Strategic Planning session in July 2015, Council directed City staff to assess our current Wi-Fi, broadband, and fiber optic opportunities.

The City has retained CTC, Energy and Technology to develop a broadband strategic plan. The consultant is currently conducting a market analysis in order to develop a high-level strategic plan that explores options for maximizing the economic development benefits of the City's existing broadband infrastructure, integrating potential future broadband projects with the City's broader economic development planning, and meeting the broadband connectivity needs of business in the City.

Local governments have long pioneered efforts to expand broadband availability and competition. As we look into the future, municipalities that choose not to build their own networks can facilitate private investment in gigabit-speed networks by optimizing local processes at key touch points that impact deployment times and costs.

The City of Huntington Beach will pursue strategies that advance privates broadband deployment. These strategies will fall into three general categories:

What is Broadband?Broadband is internet access that is always on and faster than the traditional dial-up access. It is generally defined as at least 25Mbps (Megabits per second) download (coming from a service) and 3Mbps upload (sending to a service). Broadband Internet service truly is the most used form of internet access because of its high access speeds; in Huntington Beach it is offered in many forms, DSL (Digital Subscriber Line), fiber optic, cable tv, cellular broadband or microware/satellite. The old dial-up connection is the only non-broadband internet service available and even though it is cheaper, most internet users are moving towards the fast broadband Internet connection.

What is a Gigabit?The gigabit is a multiple unit bit for digital information or computer storage. A bit is a unit of data; a one or a zero in binary. Gigabit is short for Gigabits per second (Gbps) or 1000 Megabits per second (Mbps). It is the number of millions of bits (ones and zeros) that can move across a broadband connection in one second. At a speed of 1Gbps, you could, in theory, transfer a whole HD movie (approx. 6 Gigabytes) in 48 seconds.

Why Should I Provide My Input?The City wants to ensure that our businesses and residents are in a position to be offered high-speed internet services. Your input will help determine how best to implement policies to create an environment that is ripe for private investment to expand consumer choice in broadband services. Your input will be instrumental in guiding the City in how to plan for our digital future.

Please use the following link to provide your input:This survey is now closed, thank you for your input

Did you know?

The City maintains 124 traffic signals. Report malfunctions to (714) 960-8861(City) or Caltrans (PCH & Beach Blvd) (949) 936-3600. You can also report a malfunction online.